On May 14, the European Central Bank announced its weekly main refinancing operation.
The operation was conducted on May 15 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €2.01 billion, €0.004 billion higher than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On May 16, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $0.08 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.21 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills for settlement value May 17, maturing on August 16 and November 15, respectively. Bids of €40 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €20 million, while bids of €37 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2.50 million. Since €22 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €0.50 million, to stand at €334 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.358 per cent, down by a 0.2 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on May 10, representing a bid price of €100.0906 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.357 per cent, a drop of 0.2 basis point from bids with a similar tenor also issued on May 10, representing a bid price of €100.1808 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange. Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on August 23, and November 22, respectively.